digit Posted May 31, 2023 Share Posted May 31, 2023 REMINDER: PLEASE carefully read ALL of the rules below. Make sure you include all the required information, IN THE REQUESTED FORMAT (below) when you submit your fossil! If you have a question about a possible entry, please send me a PM. Please pay special attention to Rule #5: Before and After Preparation Photos must be submitted for prepped specimens NOT found during the Month of the Contest. In addition to keeping the contest fair, this new qualification will encourage better documentation of our spectacular past finds. Entries will be taken until 11:59:00 PM EDT on JUNE 30, 2023 Any fossil submitted after that time, even if the topic is still open, will be deemed ineligible! Only entries posted with CLEAR photos and that meet the other guidelines will be placed into the Poll. Photos of the winning specimens may be posted to TFF's Facebook page. Please let us know if you have any questions, and thanks for sharing more of your fossils and research this month. Shortly after the end of the Month, separate Polls will be created for the Vertebrate and Invertebrate/Plant Find of the Month. In addition to the fun of a contest, we also want to learn more about the fossils. Tell us more about your fossil, and why you think it is worthy of the honor. To view the Winning Fossils from past contests visit the Find Of The Month Winner's Gallery. Now, go find your fossil, do your research, and make an entry! Best of success to all, and good hunting! *********************************** Rules for The Fossil Forum's Vertebrate and Invertebrate/Plant Find of the Month Contests Find a great Vertebrate Fossil or Invertebrate/Plant Fossil! Only fossils found personally by you are allowed. NO PURCHASED FOSSILS. Post your entry in the Find of the Month topic. Use a separate post for each entry. (Only two entries per member per contest category.) Your fossil must have been found during the Month of the Contest, or Significant Preparation * of your fossil must have been completed during the Month of the Contest. You must include the Date of Discovery (when found in the contest month); or the Date of Preparation Completion and Date of Discovery (if not found in the contest month). Before and After Preparation photos must be submitted for prepped specimens not found during the Month of the Contest. Please make sure you arrange for photos if someone else is preparing your fossil find and completes the prep requirements in the contest month. You must include the Common and/or Scientific Name. You must include the Geologic Age or Geologic Formation where the fossil was found. You must include the State, Province, or region where the fossil was found. You must include CLEAR, cropped, well-lit images (maximum 4 images). If you are proud enough of your fossil to submit it for FOTM, spend some time to take good photos to show off your fossil. Play fair and honest. No bought fossils. No false claims. * Significant Preparation = Substantial work to reveal and/or repair important diagnostic features, resulting in a dramatic change in the look of the fossil. The qualification of Significant Preparation is decided at the discretion of staff. Any doubts as to the eligibility of the entry will be discussed directly with the entrant. ******* Please use the following format for the required information: ******* • Date of Discovery (month, day, year) • Scientific and/or Common Name • Geologic Age or Geologic Formation • State, Province, or Region Found • Photos of Find (Please limit to 4 clear, cropped, and well-lit images.) (If prepped, before and after photos are required, please.) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiamL Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 • Date of Discovery - 24th April, Prepared on June 2nd and 3rd (10 hours) received back on the 4th of June. Prepared by Mark Kemp • Steneosaurus Crocodile Skull • Lower Jurassic Upperlias. Falciferum zone? • Yorkshire Coast, Whitby, England. As found After Preparation 31 Yorkshire Coast Fossil Hunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marguy Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 My entry, a pathological coral: Cunnolites elliptica (= Cyclolites ellipticus) usually have on their upper face a straight central slit at the level of the mouth of the polyp. the specimen I found on June 4, 2023 has a three-pronged slit. (No other anomalies, the underside is normal, and there is no trace of predation by a lithophagous organism). For me (only for me) it's 'more than the fossil of the month', because I dreamed with no real hope of finding such an individual, since a friend found one about 40 years ago.... so I had to communicate this 'little discovery' and I hope that other fossil enthusiasts will have such interesting finds to submit during this month. Date of discovery: 6/4/23 Scientific name : Cunnolites elliptica (= Cyclolites ellipticus) Geological age: Turonian (upper Cretaceous) [silicified fossil, reworked in Cenozoic alterites] Region: near Le Bugue, Dordogne department, France Photos: pathological specimen, and pathological near normal specimen 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted June 6, 2023 Author Share Posted June 6, 2023 4 hours ago, marguy said: I hope that other fossil enthusiasts will have such interesting finds to submit during this month. Interesting finds that put a smile on your face is what we look for each month so the members can drool all over their keyboards and smart phones. Why do I feel hungry for doughnuts after seeing the image above. This month's off to a great start--what else are you all finding out there? Cheers. -Ken 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterpillar Posted June 16, 2023 Share Posted June 16, 2023 Date of discovery: 6/7/23 Scientific name : Helicaulax pyrenaicus Geological age: upper Santonian Region: southwest France Before After 18 http://www.paleotheque.fr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted June 16, 2023 Share Posted June 16, 2023 @LiamL outstanding discovery and excellent prep work. Don't you just hate that feeling when you get an ammonite stuck in your eye? Ouch. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HynerpetonHunter Posted June 16, 2023 Share Posted June 16, 2023 Date of discovery: 6/14/23 Scientific name: Ecphora gardnerae Geological age: Miocene Region: Calvert County, Maryland, USA 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted June 17, 2023 Author Share Posted June 17, 2023 That's such a beautiful specimen and so iconic from the Calvert Cliffs. I wish I had found one on my one collecting trip to that locality a few years back. Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilhunter21 Posted June 18, 2023 Share Posted June 18, 2023 I am very excited about this oreodont skull. It is in pretty good condition, and it was really easy to prep (could definitely use some more prep, but for now it is good enough). I actually found this right before it poured and stormed like crazy. Had I not excavated it, it would have probably been gone forever... When I found it, all I could see was the lower jaw. I probed around a bit, and hoped that there was an upper, but I wasn't too hopeful... But, I was SUPER excited to see that it did have an upper! And it even has one complete, and one partly complete zygomatic arch! Date of Discovery: 6/15/23 Scientific and/or Common Name: Oreodont, Merycoidodon culbertsoni Geologic Age or Geologic Formation: White River Formation State, Province, or Region Found: Sioux County, Nebraska In-situ photo: And after prep: Cheers and Shalom, -Micah 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPayton Posted June 19, 2023 Share Posted June 19, 2023 (edited) * I'm not sure whether this would technically qualify as a vertebrate or invertebrate fossil for FOTM, but I'm going to enter it into the invertebrate category. For the last five weeks I've been on a field course throughout the American West as part of my final requirements for my geology degree at Baylor University here in Texas. One of the locations my class visited was Dinosaur National Monument in Jensen, Utah, which is famous for its incredible assortment of Jurassic sauropods and other dinosaurs. Many of these skeletons were left in-situ and a building was built to protect them so visitors could see them as they were found. While in Jensen, our professors took us to private land they had permission to collect on and it was here that I found this gastrolith. I was reluctant to consider any smoothed rock I found a gastrolith right away, but confirmation from my professor settled it. If the rock had simply been smoothed by erosion in a stream or river both the high and low points would be equally eroded, but because the rock spent its time in a dinosaur's gizzard it was smoothed by repeated banging against other swallowed stones, resulting in a highly-polished surface on only the high relief points as if it had been in a rock tumbler. What makes it special is that it's what I like to call a "fossil-within-a-fossil." Some unassuming dinosaur during the Jurassic swallowed this piece of jasper to help it grind up all the vegetation it ate without realizing that it was eating a fossil. I like how well this one single rock shows the depth of geologic time - when it was picked up by a dinosaur it was already a fossil and likely had been for a very, very long time. Maybe the dinosaur that swallowed it later died and itself became a fossil as well. It's difficult to narrow it down to anything specific but based on the surrounding geology I'm guessing the horn coral inclusion is probably from the Pennsylvanian or early Permian. Date of Discovery: 6/11/23 Scientific and/or Common Name: Gastrolith with Tabulate Coral Inclusion Geologic Age or Geologic Formation: Late Jurassic, Morrison Formation State, Province, or Region Found: Utah Edited June 20, 2023 by GPayton 1 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikrogeophagus Posted June 19, 2023 Share Posted June 19, 2023 @GPayton Truly a special find! First evidence that dinosaurs hunted fossils? 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon Posted June 19, 2023 Share Posted June 19, 2023 (edited) 10 hours ago, GPayton said: If the rock had simply been smoothed by erosion in a stream or river both the high and low points would be equally eroded, but because the rock spent its time in a dinosaur's gizzard it was smoothed by repeated banging against other swallowed stones, resulting in a highly-polished surface on only the high relief points as if it had been in a rock tumbler. Great fossil, and interesting way to distinguish between naturally smoothed rocks and those that are more confidently ascribable as gastroliths! 10 hours ago, EPIKLULSXDDDDD said: @GPayton Truly a special find! First evidence that dinosaurs hunted fossils? Well, with T. rex apparently being as smart as a baboon and capable of culture, I'm not the least surprised dinosaurian scientists would take in interest in what came before them! Edited June 19, 2023 by pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon 1 'There's nothing like millions of years of really frustrating trial and error to give a species moral fibre and, in some cases, backbone' -- Terry Pratchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted June 19, 2023 Share Posted June 19, 2023 17 hours ago, GPayton said: Date of Discovery: 6/11/23 Scientific and/or Common Name: Gastrolith with Rugose Coral Inclusion Geologic Age or Geologic Formation: Middle Jurassic, Morrison Formation State, Province, or Region Found: Utah This looks like a tabulate coral to me. Still a cool find in a gastrolith. Don 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePhysicist Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 Found this cool dino tooth in matrix from a channel deposit • Date of Discovery (month, day, year): 6/22/2023 • Scientific and/or Common Name: Pectinodon bakkeri, Troodontid maxillary tooth • Geologic Age or Geologic Formation: Hell Creek Formation, Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) • State, Province, or Region Found: Garfield Co., MT, USA Pectinodon as depicted in Prehistoric Planet 12 Forever a student of Nature Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 12 hours ago, ThePhysicist said: Found this cool dino tooth in matrix from a channel deposit • Date of Discovery (month, day, year): 6/22/2023 • Scientific and/or Common Name: Pectinodon bakkeri, Troodontid maxillary tooth • Geologic Age or Geologic Formation: Hell Creek Formation, Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) • State, Province, or Region Found: Garfield Co., MT, USA Pectinodon as depicted in Prehistoric Planet Very lovely tooth, congrats! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notidanodon Posted June 24, 2023 Share Posted June 24, 2023 Found this one way back (for me ) in 2018 and only recently got it prepped for the memories but it turned out nicer than I’d expected! Date of Discovery (month, day, year): 18/4/2018 • Scientific and/or Common Name: Stiphrothyris tumida • Geologic Age or Geologic Salperton limestone fm. Trigonia grit member, Bajocian, inferior Oolite • State, Province, or Region Found: Gilbert’s grave railway cutting some before photos at the end 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted June 24, 2023 Author Share Posted June 24, 2023 Thanks for the in-progress prep pics. Cheers. -Ken 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK hiker Posted June 28, 2023 Share Posted June 28, 2023 Alaska has had a late spring and I was finally able to get out for a hike to one of the lower elevation sites I had last visited 5 years ago. I typically hike 7 to 12 miles to get to these remote areas after an hours flight from my home but this trip was different. With snow still present at the 5,000 foot level covering where I have landed in the past I elected to go to a mining strip and would hike up from there. As luck would have it the placer miner had just driven his 3/4 ton pickup in that day meeting me at my airplane. After telling him I was fossil hunting he told me he beat me to it already and had searched the bottoms of the slides the previous week but offered me a ride down valley to where I was headed. I do these hike for exercise but not one to be impolite accepted the ride crossing the river 5 time without getting a drop of water on me or my dog, Kilo. Up we went and immediately found two ammonites in the mudstone cliff face making for a very short hike that day. This is the first ammonite to prepare in my home made prep box and dust separator. Consolidated with Butvar B-98 and ethanol, cut to a flat base to sit on my desk next to an other Talkeetna Mountain beauty. DATE OF DISCOVERY: June 19, 2023 SCIENTIFIC NAME: Pseudophyllites indure AGE/GEOLOGIC FORMATION; Upper Cretaceous/Matanuska Formation member 3 LOCATION FOUND: Alaska, Talkeetna Mountains In situ Carefully exposed after cutting steps in the rock face so could safely reach the ammonite. Starting the preparation Completed. Now sitting on my desk next to a fat Anapaydiscus nelchinesis found in the same formation. Cheers; Bob 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilhunter21 Posted June 29, 2023 Share Posted June 29, 2023 I am very excited about this frog/toad humerus I found in a bunch of really nice micro matrix that I collected a few weeks ago. It is probably one of my rarest, and coolest micro specimens from the White River Formation. Date of Discovery: 6/28/23 Scientific and/or Common Name: Frog/Toad Humerus Geologic Age or Geologic Formation: White River Formation State, Province, or Region Found: Sioux County, Nebraska, USA Cheers and Shalom, -Micah 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HynerpetonHunter Posted June 30, 2023 Share Posted June 30, 2023 @digit I found three Ecphora and one Polinices in the same area along the Cliffs. I found the entry Ecphora on top of a pile of clay/marl near the other gastropods. Next time I'm hoping for a Lunatia to complete my Choptank gastropod collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikrogeophagus Posted June 30, 2023 Share Posted June 30, 2023 Squeaking in last second to toss in my favorite of the month: a beautiful heteromorph ammonite from the NSR red zone. It was quite a trek to reach it, but I couldn't be happier! • Date of Discovery (month, day, year): 6/17/2023 • Scientific and/or Common Name: Trachyscaphites spiniger heteromorph ammonite • Geologic Age or Geologic Formation: Ozan Formation, Campanian, Cretaceous • State, Province, or Region Found: North Sulphur River, NE Texas 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 Really incredible finds' Thanks to all. Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.thumb.jpg.800417caf175c525b13bb96105b08086.jpg)
Recommended Posts